Joseph Parker was knocked down after seven seconds of his bout against Derek Chisora but the New Zealander rallied to record a split decision victory at the Manchester Arena.
Having been persuaded to go through with the headline fight by his mother after a row over the ring walks, Chisora looked set for one of the biggest wins of his career after landing his signature punch in the opening moments of the first round.
Parker weathered some punishing moments before finishing strongly against his tiring rival and was given the nod 116-111 and 115-113 by two of the judges, with a third scoring the contest 115-113 in favour of Chisora.
After splitting from his long-term trainer Kevin Barry. Parker is Under the watchful eye of former middlweight world champion Andy Lee.
On making that move, the 29-year-old said: "I just felt like it was time to freshen it up," from a fighter who held the WBO belt from 2016 to 2018 but wasn't overly convincing in beating Junior Fa in February.
